Trekki's VirtualTourist Home Page
| Page Views: 81,238 | Paths are being created by taking them :-) by Trekki - last update: Oct 24, 2009 |
Travels and beyond | Käringön, special day, special company :-) |
Hello and welcome to my contribution to Virtualtourist :-)
So I am expected to write about me and my travels? Let me quote Albert Einstein, as these his words describe it better than I can do in my humble English :-)
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose the holy curiosity.
This was my way to travel, this is my way to travel and this will always be my way to travel. I am not made for tour group travel, I would scream and feel confined the whole time. I am not made for masses, I would get claustrophobia. I am not made for discos and nightclubs, I would get deaf and blind.
Since a great many years, my preferred travel style is to pack my backpack (80 l), get on a plane, bus or train and start exploring. To me exploration means immersing into a country or location, feeling what it is all about, breathing the spirit it emanates, talking to the locals (or not talk at all), learning as much as I can from whatever surrounds me and enjoying the atmosphere of a town, region our country. This implies that I try not to race through a country or destination but stay there for a couple of days to get an idea of where I am and develop a feeling for the place. Luckily I have 30 plus days of holiday to spend (as most of my compatriots).
Maybe my travel habits have developed this way since I used to stay in 5 Star hotels during business travels; so I simply couldn’t stand them on my private tours. And wherever I have been on business trips, I was dragged to the famous places, taken to first class restaurants and dropped back to the hotel. So even if I was in Rio de Janeiro several times for example, I never was really there, because I could not spend time just to wander around and get a feeling of city and people. But whatever reason – most of my best meals are those which I cooked somewhere off the crowds with the best cinema on earth: nature and the surroundings. Or at the food stalls or where locals go in cities or villages. And the best spot to place my bed is somewhere where I can listen to the sounds of silence or the night, smell the flavour, nature emanates at night – or simply sleep in what I call the 3 million stars hotel :-)
This doesn’t mean that I never travel in or into cities. Well, this is the ever-present contradiction in or of me, because I also love to visit cities, towns, and villages. But they need to have this special atmosphere, which means (for me) that they are connected to anything that beams with harmony, peace and serenity. This can be special architecture (I adore Gaudí for example and could hang around in Barcelona for ages), rural little towns with just the right amount of wildflowers or scrub growing in gardens or on walls, and also a church which is out of the “norm”, and the grand architectural treasures of Romanesque and Gothic of course.Umbria is a good example. I was travelling through Umbria during three weeks in April 2008 and it was one of my most magic trips. I didn’t see anything “spectacular”, but the whole region felt so spectacular because it is so quiet, so peaceful, so harmonic and because it holds many exciting discoveries literally around every corner. Or cities, towns, villages with rivers are also something special, as they tell even more stories about what happened there over the ages. Like... yes, like my very much beloved Venezia. |
| Venezia La Serenissima (Campo S. Maria Nova) :-) |
|  | You can imagine now that you will never find records of countries I have visited on my pages, nor counting of famous sites, nor listing of UNESCO heritage sites I have visited. Even if I was at UNESCO sites, I have realised this mostly later and it was never part of my trip planning. I define my personal heritage on our planet myself (and let not others do this). I don’t need to see the 7 wonders of the world. I define my personal wonders of the world.
You might find hikes in windy and rainy regions, when browsing through my writings here.
Patagonia, the southern part of South America, will be my all time favourite. I love the weather there, always unpredictable, sometimes wind as much as 150 km/h in El Chaltén for example, and make me feel the microscopically tiny part of this planet that I really am (and not the "super" business person I am in the daily shark pond or zoo, haha…). This is where you still can find thick and pristine mountains, where it is easy to imagine that no one crossed them since millions of years. And this is where you can spend ages, counting the stars in the night, because in a radius of often 300 km, no other human being is living there.
Other places you will find here are rocky or partly desert areas, such as US Southwest. I like its colours and how they change in daylight or in stormy weather. I also love the wonderful stories, each of the rocks and colours tells about the history of all of us.
Maybe you find locations on my pages, which you want to add to your personal heritage sites, like I found some of mine as well while browsing through VT pages :-)
That's why I like VT – it is inspiration to travels into the unknown.
Einstein wrote about the awe when contemplating the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the structure of reality. This is what I find in all my travels now - and even if it is from home to the office :-) Sometimes it is a tiny bud which announces spring, sometimes it is the light in the sky during a heavy storm (Umbria again), sometimes it is a tiny weathered stone bridge over a little creek, partly covered with moss. And sometimes it is the fresh and home made goat cheese, which local farmers offer, when you stop by.
Once, it was a night of full moon, miles and miles off civilisation, in PN Cerro Castillo in Chile.
Once, it was a days' horseback ride deep into Monument Valley, in December, with beautiful stormy weather and unforgettable light settings.
Once, it was a clear and crispy cold winter day with a lot of fluffy snow in Sweden ,
And once it was the overwhelming friendly and warm hearted people in a yurt deep in the Pamirs, where I got some of the best food I ever had in my life.
Or, or, or… the list is almost endless.
My list of dream locations might be a bit out of the norm, but well....
Parque Pumalin in Chile, but this will need to wait until I am ready to cross the equator again;
Iceland and the geothermal activities,
Italy and Spain again and again (I will never ever get tired of these countries), mostly the Spanish Picos de Europa and in Italy it is Sardegna, Sicilia, Basilicata and… Venezia and Umbria again and again :-),
Sweden again and again for its blue, green and white colours, lakes and landscapes, in summer or in winter with hopefully much snow again :-),
London and England and the beautiful countryside again.
And one very old dream became more realistic since recently, this is Paria Canyon and Coyote Butte in Utah and Buckskin Gulch in Utah. :-) |
New Year, new ideas, new horizons & travel Well, let's see what the New Year will bring.
2008 brought me serious insights into my black soul when I was forced to lie in bed for almost 3 weeks with a pertinacious virus in January. These are maybe the most precious moments in life when something throws one down and stops the participation in this “game” and leaves time to sort out thoughts. Life is submitted to changes, a lot of changes. Often these changes are caused by events or by people who cross one’s way, be it short encounters or longer ones, in business life or private life. Often it is also only later that one realises how encounters have influenced thoughts or even let new thoughts develop. I am very much grateful to several encounters I had during the last years (and yes, also to have encountered you, “sweet” peeping & stalking Tom, be sure that I know that you continue to read what I write here). What I realised is that many of my travels in the past and also plans I had until just recently are nothing but fleeing from the necessity to confront myself with my oh-so-protected world and my oh-so-semi-intelligent babbling while I praise the countries and people I have met in Central Asia, the Pamirs and Latin America and whom I praise so much for their friendliness and helpfulness. Where I planned to go back again and again to be in a friendly and warm hearted environment and learn from these people. Yes, learning, good point. Are my travels worth any cent if I continue to babble how lovely the people are and how nice it is elsewhere and how much I can learn from them if I don’t transfer what I learned into my actual life, attitude and behaviour? It would be not worth any cent, it would be a grand and sustaining self-delusion. That’s what I realised recently: this running to somewhere just to be happy and feel happy and forget or deny that happiness is in one self and cannot be found elsewhere.
Conclusion? I have already started and will continue to implement what I thought to have learned from other cultures. Open my eyes in my own country and culture and act in the way I admire so much in the people of other countries. Helpfulness – how much of an ignorant am I if I admire people’s helpfulness in Central Asia and want to help others outside of my country and culture if I am not even able to be helpful here in my own country and culture ? Hospitality, friendliness, giving without taking, the list is endless. I don’t need to travel to spring Joshi or to Wakhan before I haven’t understood our own spring festivals and found “my” Wakhan in my country and culture.
My country and culture – this is not necessarily Germany but Europe, as our countries are very much interweaved with each other.
So I will concentrate my travels to European destinations and into my inner black soul and will try to make use of what I have learned outside of Europe.
2008 was a bit of a crazy travel year. Usually, I am not very much fond of making detailed travel plans, but just get ideas, find out more, book a flight and go. I am lucky to be independent in the time and so I could go whenever the masses don’t go. I can still do this, but my boss (aka best boss of all) wants all of us to add our holiday plans into our work calendar already in January. I made some funny jokes about this, but realised that it makes life much easier to know at least roughly when I go and where. It does not cut my independence at all and does not change my travel habit to go at very slow pace and explore surroundings rather than race through countries. At least I did know that I want to explore more of Italy and that London was calling and that Venezia keeps calling again and again. Plus, setting up the dates early makes it easy to book my preferred European 88 € return flights (including taxes) with Lufthansa. And if I am honest to myself, to know a date does not necessarily take surprising discoveries out of a travel. | | | Venezia La Serenissima (Dorsoduro, R. Malparga):-) |
|
| Venezia La Serenissima (Campo Vidal) :-) |
| |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In April 2008 I went to Emilia Romagna, an Italian region I wanted to explore since some time. Emilia Romagna is known as Italy’s granary, for its famous food and ingredients, like aceto balsamico, parmigiano reggiano, prosciutto di Parma, it is the birthplace of ragú alla bolognese and so many more famous dishes which made their tour around the world. Just read the list in the Italian Wikipedia about traditional Italian dishes and I guarantee that you get hungry. I did. And I was in Umbria, which turned out to be one of the most magic places I have been. Of course it was too early for fioritura in Piano Grande, but this is a perfect excuse to go back in May or June :-)
Then 2008 in summer I was in London and could finally hug some dear virtual friends I had contact with since some time. I found out how much the city has changed since I was there last time. I explored museums and river Thames, sat in bookstores forever, had the chance to visit Buckingham Palace and Palace of Westminster during their summer openings and went to Spamalot, the most fantastic musical based on Monty Python’s Holy Grail. My wishlist was ridiculously long. Of course I could not see everything I wanted, but this gives me more than many reasons to come back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travel plans for 2009
This is easy. I am already looking forward to Cascais in May. And as 2009 is a special year for me in terms of birthday. I didn’t need a second to decide where and with whom I will spend my “half century”, so I will be in the north of Europe for an amazing 4 or 5 weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
New contributions
Can't believe it but I have managed to finish my first contribution of my summer 2009 trip to Sweden: The Kingdom of Crystal, visits in Småland's glass factories and two beautiful old churches (August 23, 2009). Another page of my recent travel is finished since September 1, 2009: Eksjö. And in between no Sweden, but a tiny tiny page about a village called Bürgstadt where I found a most magnificent little church (written and finished September 13, 2009). Another of my Sweden villages is finished, well, island: Gullholmen (as of October 16, 2009). Only two days later, October 18, 2009, I also finished Käringön, which will always have an extra special place in my heart :-)
And now, as of October 24, 2009, I have managed to finish my description of Sweden how I saw it during this summer and earlier winter trips.
I am happy to have managed finishing Umbria as of November 10, 2008:-)
I finished Marburg, my lovely town of university days (May 1, 2009). This was a pure pleasure because I visited some time ago, blessed with perfect sunny weather, ideal to take many photos and describe the city as it deserves it :-).
It seems that I cannot stop writing about my beloved state of Rheinland-Pfalz (end June, 2009). I wrote several new tips and am still continuing :-)
In addition to exploring "my" Rheinland-Pfalz I thought I should also contribute to the state I currently live in. I've been at several destinations already and will continue to explore it. That's why I have started to write about Hessen and will continue.
…. and updates
If you happen to see the little green update icon somewhere on my travel pages, please take a look at the corresponding intro first. Usually I make little notes at the beginning of the intros what is new. Often I only exchange youtube links, update websites, correct typing errors or “polish” my texts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | | |
| Venezia La Serenissima - L'Arsenale |
| | General comments: my destinations, pages, tips and photos
My destinations:
My preferred travel style is to be off the paths, I already described this before. And I already wrote that this does not necessarily exclude popular destinations (like Venezia and London). They hold many gems for the curious visitor who leaves the trotten path. But usually I like to be more off the crowds also in terms of my travel time. Luckily I can travel whenever I want, so I don’t need to set off during school holidays. I am not made for extreme heat, so I most probably won’t travel in hot summers anyhow (Central Asia was an exception and I paid a very high price...). My preferred time is spring and autumn, when blossoms are all out on meadows and parks and in forests or when the leaves turn into magic colour. Usually I only book the flight and depending on my destination from time to time also a car. This definitely gives me more independence to go to places which are hardly or difficult to reach by public transport. And of course I can stop whenever I want to take photos. However, in regions like South America or Central Asia I never rented a car, but fully relied on public transport.
VT pages:
It is difficult to keep up writing about my travels and I cannot stick to my original intention which was that I shall write about one trip before I start the next one. I will most probably never have the time to re-write my old pages like South America in a proper manner, so I just leave it as it is. If you have questions about Patagonia, just ask.
Over the years I am on VT I seem to have developed a habit and write a bit more logical and in sequences. I think my tips can be used as stand-alone ones but I prefer to give an overall aspect and my impression of places in the page as such. I have found myself writing “complete” pages from time to time with e.g. warning tips saying “there is no danger” for destinations which are not much travelled like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. And for destinations like Venezia (and others) which became very dear to me I find myself writing and writing and suddenly end up with quite much descriptions and suggestions to see. Well, readers who prefer short descriptions should better look elsewhere or skip tips or read in “blocks”.
My tips in general:
When it comes to accommodation, it might be obvious already – 5 star hotels are not my places. This not because of the prices but because of the flair (in my opinion a 5 star hotel does not have any flair at all). I don’t need and don’t want luxury around me when I travel but prefer cute hotels, B&Bs, farm stays or my tent – any place that has my kind of specific atmosphere. So if I rate or judge an accommodation with 5 stars (or points) then it means that it has atmosphere, a lovely location, friendly hosts and a firm bed. It might not have hairdryer or fridge or TV with all channels or room service or chocolate on the pillow – these things don’t mean anything to me. I need a bed, because I am out of the room during the day and sleep during the night.
When I write about restaurants, then these won’t be 5 star cuisines either. I prefer local food and restaurants with a flair. Often, the setting is not important to me, however it is nice to have my meal in a nice environment to look at (mountains or cities or landscapes or a river).
You won’t find many nightlife tips on my pages, and if it is also only atmospheric ones like exceptional sunsets or walks or boat tours (as in Venezia), but definitely no nightclub.
Now to the old question what is off path ? As I prefer to wander around in the less travelled streets and regions, I most likely will add sights I found noteworthy to the to-do section (and not to the off path one).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Photos:
Sometimes I get questions about my photo equipment, so here is the story: I started taking photos in 1985, when I bought a Minolta 7000 with wide angle and tele lens. But I only took printed photos, hardly ever slides. When the first digital cameras appeared on the market, I was torn between getting direct access to my photos or still having the possibility to enlarge my favourite photos. In 2005 I finally arrived in digital age, but only with a compact (Olympus Camedia 500). It was meant to get myself used to digital and to play a bit but in the progress of time I was very much satisfied with the result – all my photos of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been made with her. But… my Minolta lenses were still there waiting to come to life again. Luckily, in mid 2006 Sony bought Minolta patents and came up with the Alpha 100. A person very dear to my heart had the similar “problem” (old Minolta lenses waiting for a digital body) and she finally got it. When she came back from a special trip and I saw the photos, I knew that my lenses will soon have the body to go with. So it is the Alpha 100, together with an old but perfect 70-210 mm lens (called the beercan) and since recently a Sigma 10-20 mm lens which joins me on my travels now. I found myself taking more detail photos than ever before, and my favourite tele lens is doing better than ever. Just recently I got my first prints (30x45 cm) and the result was breathtaking: On the photo to the left (L’Arsenale wall in Venezia) even the small grains of the bricks were clearly and sharp. Amazing where technology brought us to.
For day-to-day processing I use PhotoImpact but for the prints I switch over to Photoshop (CS). Processing means that I correct the horizon when necessary and that I add clarity and sharpness to them. Occasionally I also “change weather”, which is when I took photos of beautiful environments on a rainy or cloudy or misty day. I don’t see this as cheating, as I am not always at the right time at a special place. |
All pictures have been taken by me, if not marked otherwise.
Please do not use any of them without my permission.
The same applies for my writings here.
Thanks.
|
 Trekki's Albums | | | |
|
 Comments for Trekki | | | | |
richiecdisc Sat Nov 7, 2009 20:39 UTC
Welcome home, Ingrid. Look forward to hearing about your trip. Hope the gelato was good. :) Thanks for checking out Portland. You would like the city and even the beer. As you can see, I am already working my way through Washington. lol | toonsarah Sat Nov 7, 2009 20:12 UTC
Good evening Ingrid :-) I am glad you are home safely - so are we. But Marrakesh didn't go quite as planned - I fell & broke a bone in my foot on 1st day - have been in plaster & on crutches. Didn't see nearly as much as we wanted, tho too many doctors | LoriPori Sat Nov 7, 2009 20:02 UTC
Hello Ingrid: hope you're enjoying this lovely weekend. The sun is shining and it's a glorious day for a walk. Just saw a flock of Canada geese fly by heading south. Maybe they know something we don't. hehe! | mircaskirca Sat Nov 7, 2009 18:40 UTC
Good evening, good evening my dear Ingrid :)) Welcome back!! Oh, I'm sure it was great and look forward to hear all about :) Yes, I'm counting the days, only 33 from now :) I feel each day more excited!! Warm evening hugs and smiles :)) |
|
|
email me
add as friend
